Some Assessments of Food Safety Laws in Vietnam's Commercial Activities

1. Current Legal Situation on Food Safety in Vietnam's Commercial Activities

1.1. Regulations on Conditions Ensuring Food Safety in Commercial Activities

Conditions ensuring food safety in commercial activities include the legal requirements that food business establishments must meet. These conditions are specified in Section 1, Chapter IV of the Food Safety Law of 2010, Circular No. 15/2012/TT-BYT dated September 12, 2012, specifying general conditions for ensuring food safety for food production and trading establishments, Circular No. 24/2014/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 19, 2014, stipulating food safety conditions for wholesale markets, agricultural auction markets, etc. Food business establishments must meet the following basic requirements:

- Requirements on goods as food when put into circulation and distribution.

- Technical infrastructure requirements for food business establishments, including: area, location, and operating environment of food business establishments; requirements related to the design and construction of food business establishments; etc.

- Requirements for food preservation in business: Food business establishments must meet the requirements for food preservation to ensure food safety, including: materials, packaging, storage area, design for warehouse, racks, storage temperature, specialized equipment, water used in preservation, etc.

1.2. Regulations on Advertising and Labeling Food Products

* Regulations on food advertising:

Food advertising is carried out according to the provisions of the Food Safety Law of 2010, the Advertising Law of 2012, and the guiding documents for implementing these two laws, such as: Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP dated April 25, 2012, of the Government of Vietnam detailed implementation of a number of articles of the Food Safety Law; Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP dated January 14, 2013, of the Government of Vietnam detailed implementation of a number of articles of the Food Safety Law; Circular No. 08/2013/TT-BYT dated March 13, 2013, of the Ministry of Health guiding food advertising under the management of the Ministry of Health; Circular No. 40/2012/TT-BCT dated December 21, 2012, of the Ministry of Industry and Trade stipulating the issuance of a certification for food advertising content managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, etc. Food advertising activities must comply with the following regulations:

- Advertising must comply with the law on advertising.

- Advertising content must be verified before registering for advertisement.

- Advertising content must ensure accuracy and truthfulness in accordance with the legal provisions.

- Concerning the verification of advertising content: The authority to appraise and issue certifications for advertising content lies with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, depending on the type of food they manage.

* Regulations on food labeling:

Food labeling is carried out according to the provisions of the Food Safety Law of 2010, Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP dated April 25, 2012, of the Government of Vietnam detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Food Safety Law, Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP dated April 14, 2017, of the Government of Vietnam on goods labeling. The organizations and individuals trading goods in Vietnam or importing goods must label the goods, except for certain products as stipulated by law.

Goods labels must display mandatory information, including: the name of the goods; name and address of the organization or individual responsible for the goods; origin of the goods and other content specific to each type of goods. For imported goods that do not display or display insufficient mandatory content in Vietnamese on the label, a supplementary label must be affixed showing the mandatory content in Vietnamese and retaining the original label of the goods. Supplementary labels are also used for goods that cannot be exported or are returned and placed in circulation on the market, with the bold inscription "Produced in Vietnam."

For pre-packaged foods, in addition to complying with labeling regulations, the mandatory label content must adhere to the following rules:

- Information on the label must accurately reflect the nature of the product, be truthful, precise, clear, and not misleading to users;

- For functional foods, fortified foods, the label must display essential information such as: declared nutritional components; bioactive substances; effects on health; specify target audience, dosage, usage instructions, and warnings if any;

- For medical nutrition foods, vitamin, mineral supplements intended for specific groups like formula food for pregnant women, children under 36 months, and tube feeding for patients, compliance with nutritional needs, dosage for each target group, and physician’s guide must be declared;

- Functional foods, fortified foods, food additives, certain genetically modified foods (subject to labeling requirements by law) must clearly state the components and their quantities in the food;

- When a component of the product is used as the product name, the quantity of that component must be stated beside the product name;

- The product name must be in the largest, clearest font, at least three times larger than other text on the label;

- When translating labels, the content must not deviate from the original label.

According to legal regulations, "Safe Use By Date" must be recorded as "Use By," or "Best Before Date" for functional foods, supplementary foods, health protection foods, medical nutrition foods, fortified foods, and other perishable foods due to microorganisms.

The safe use by date for other foods may be recorded as "Best Used By Date" appropriate to each type of food product. Foods labeled "Use By," or "Best Before Date" must not be sold if past this date. Foods labeled "Best Used By Date" can still be sold after this date if the manufacturer can prove to the competent authority that the food is safe and must clearly state the use-by date in one of the two forms "Use By," or "Best Before Date."

Only the food manufacturer can extend the use-by date of their products, and the extended use-by period can be at most equal to the originally designated use-by period.

Additionally, functional foods, food additives, irradiated foods, and genetically modified foods must adhere to specific labeling regulations per type of food specified in several circulars: Inter-Circular No. 34/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT dated October 27, 2014, of the Minister of Health, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Industry and Trade guiding labeling on foods, food additives, and food processing aids for pre-packaged foods; Inter-Circular No. 45/2015/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHCN dated November 23, 2015, guiding labeling for genetically modified foods in pre-packaged foods; Circular No. 43/2014/TT-BYT dated November 24, 2014, of the Ministry of Health stipulating the management of functional foods; etc.

1.3. Regulations on State Management Responsibility for Food Safety in Commercial Activities

State management of food safety is the responsibility of various agencies within the administrative system of the Vietnamese government. The Food Safety Law of 2010, Decree No. 38/2012/ND-CP dated April 25, 2012, of the Government of Vietnam detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Food Safety Law, clearly defines state management responsibilities over food safety for the following government agencies:

- Responsibility of the Ministry of Health for state management of food safety:

The Ministry of Health is responsible before the Government for executing state management of food safety, and has the following duties:

+ General responsibilities: (1) Leading the development and submission to competent authorities for approval and implementation of national strategies and master plans on food safety; (2) Issuing national technical standards on safety indicators and limits for food products; tools and materials for packaging and containing food; (3) Requiring ministries, central authorities, and Provincial People’s Committees to report regularly and unexpectedly on food safety management; (4) Specifying general conditions for ensuring food safety in food production and trading establishments; (5) Leading propaganda, legal education on food safety, and warning on food poisoning incidents; (6) Inspecting and unexpected checking the entire process of food production, import, and trading under the management of other ministries when necessary.

+ Responsibilities in sectoral management: (1) Leading the development, issuing or proposing competent authorities to approve and implement strategies, policies, plans, normative documents on food safety in the assigned fields; (2) Managing food safety throughout the production, preliminary processing, processing, storage, transportation, export, import, trading of food additives, food processing aids, bottled drinking water, natural mineral water, functional foods, and other foods as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam; (3) Managing food safety concerning tools and materials for packaging and containing food during production, processing, and trading in the assigned fields; (4) Inspecting, checking, and handling legal violations on food safety in the production, export, import, trading activities of food in the assigned fields.

- Responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for state management of food safety:

+ Leading the development, issuing, or proposing competent authorities to approve and implement policies, strategies, plans, normative documents on food safety within the assigned scope.

+ Managing food safety in the initial production of agriculture, forestry, fishery, and salt.

+ Managing food safety throughout the production, collection, slaughtering, preliminary processing, processing, storage, transportation, export, import, trading of cereals, meat, and meat products, aquatic products and their products, vegetables, tubers, fruits and their products, eggs and egg products, raw milk, honey and honey products, genetically modified foods, salt, and other agricultural food products as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam.

+ Managing food safety concerning tools and materials for packaging and containing food during production, processing, and trading in the assigned fields.

+ Reporting periodically and unexpectedly on the food safety management situation in the assigned scope.

+ Inspecting, checking, and handling violations of legal provisions on food safety in the production, export, import, trading activities in the assigned fields.

- Responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for state management of food safety:

+ Leading the development, issuing or proposing competent authorities to approve and implement policies, strategies, plans, normative documents on food safety within the assigned scope.

+ Managing food safety throughout the production, processing, storage, transportation, export, import, trading of alcohol, beer, soft drinks, processed milk, vegetable oil, processed starch, and other foods as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam.

+ Managing food safety concerning tools and materials for packaging and containing food during production, processing, and trading in the assigned fields.

+ Issuing policies, plans on markets, supermarkets, stipulating food business conditions at markets and supermarkets.

+ Leading the fight against fake foods, commercial fraud in food circulation and trading.

+ Reporting periodically and unexpectedly on the food safety management situation in the assigned scope.

+ Inspecting, checking, and handling violations of legal provisions on food safety in the production, export, import, trading activities in the assigned fields.

- Responsibility of Provincial People's Committees for state management of food safety:

+ Issuing normative documents, local technical standards within their authority; planning and organizing safe food production zone, ensuring food safety management across the supply chain.

+ Responsible for food safety management within their territories; managing food safety conditions for small-scale food production establishments, street food vendors, food trading, and catering service establishments, and food safety in local markets and subjects as decentralized by management.

+ Reporting periodically and unexpectedly on the food safety management situation within their territories.

+ Allocating resources, organizing training to improve the quality of human resources for food safety assurance within their territories.

+ Leading propaganda, education, and communication to raise awareness about food safety, compliance with food safety laws, the sense of responsibility of food producers and traders to the community, and consumer awareness of food safety.

+ Inspecting, checking, and handling violations of food safety laws within their territories.

The specific assignment of responsibilities among the three ministries is regulated in Inter-Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT dated April 9, 2014, guiding the coordination in state management of food safety.

1.4. Standards and Regulations on Food Safety in Commercial Activities

Pursuant to the Standards and Technical Regulations Law, ministries have actively developed technical standards (TCVN) and national technical regulations (QCVN) on food safety. From 2011 to 2016, 453 TCVNs were proposed, 119 QCVNs on food and 6 technical regulations on food safety were issued. As for the stage of food trading, 16 national technical regulations have been issued, including:

- QCVN 12-1:2011/BYT. National technical regulations on sanitary safety for plastic packaging, utensils in direct contact with food;

- QCVN 12-2:2011/BYT. National technical regulations on sanitary safety for rubber packaging, utensils in direct contact with food;

- QCVN 12-3:2011/BYT. National technical regulations on sanitary safety for metal packaging, utensils in direct contact with food;

- QCVN 12-4:2015/BYT. National technical regulations on sanitary safety for glass, ceramic, and enamel packaging, utensils in direct contact with food;

- QCVN 01-05: 2009/BNNPTNT. National technical regulations: Hygiene requirements for fresh meat packing establishments (livestock and poultry);

- QCVN 01-100:2012/BNNPTNT. National technical regulations: General veterinary hygiene requirements for equipment, tools, and transportation means of animals and fresh and processed animal products;

- QCVN 02 - 01: 2009/BNNPTNT. Food Fishery business establishments - General conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;

- QCVN 02 - 02: 2009/BNNPTNT. Food Fishery business establishments - Quality and food safety assurance program based on HACCP principles;

- QCVN 02 - 09: 2009/BNNPTNT. Cold storage for fishery products - Conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;- QCVN 02 - 10: 2009/BNNPTNT. Fishery product procurement establishments - Conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;

- QCVN 02 - 11: 2009/BNNPTNT. Fish market - Conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;

- QCVN 02 - 12: 2009/BNNPTNT. Fishing port - Conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;

- QCVN 02 - 13: 2009/BNNPTNT. Fishing vessel - Conditions ensuring food sanitation and safety;

- QCVN 01-133:2013/BNNPTNT. National technical regulations on rice storage warehouses;

- QCVN 01-21: 2010/BNNPTNT. National technical regulations on inspection methods for import and export fresh fruits and vegetables;

- QCVN 01-22: 2010/BNNPTNT. National technical regulations on inspection methods for import and export trees.

2. General Assessment of Food Safety Law in Commercial Activities in Vietnam2.1. Some Achieved Results

- Legal documents on food safety in general and food safety in commercial activities specifically have been issued relatively comprehensively and promptly over time; gradually meeting the requirements of state management on food safety and ensuring food safety in social life.

The content of the issued legal documents has fundamentally institutionalized the Party and State's policies and guidelines on food safety; codified international treaties and agreements that Vietnam has signed and participated in, ensuring consistency and synchronization with the current legal system; legal regulations on food safety have been issued under the proper authority, closely following state management requirements on food safety, making it quite convenient for food production and business.

- The legal document system on food safety in commercial activities in Vietnam is relatively comprehensive and rich, covering areas such as public health safety, plant and animal quarantine regulations, and the system of regulations on food business, export, and import.

Recently, numerous legal documents such as the 2013 Constitution, the Veterinary Law, the Plant Protection and Quarantine Law, the Environmental Protection Law, the Investment Law, the State Budget Law, etc., have been amended, supplemented, and issued, contributing to creating a favorable legal corridor for ensuring food safety in general and food safety in commercial activities specifically. All the mentioned documents have established a legal corridor to ensure food safety in commercial activities, meeting the requirements for international economic integration.

- Food safety regulations in commercial activities meet the demands of the new situation. The content of food safety laws in commercial activities is becoming more comprehensive and complete.

Regulations on conditions ensuring food safety in food business clearly delineate the safety conditions at each stage of production, business, linking to specific product groups such as the production and business of fresh food, food processing, and the business of processed food, showing clear classification for each type of food product. Legal provisions on advertising and labeling foods are more specifically regulated.

- Food safety laws in general, and food safety laws in commercial activities specifically, have made significant progress in assigning specific responsibilities to various ministries and sectors for food safety management activities in the market.

Food safety laws have laid the foundation for forming and improving the organizational structure and state management apparatus on food safety from the central to local levels, with assigned responsibilities and decentralization among ministries, sectors, and localities, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety management in general and food safety management in commercial activities specifically.

- The system of standards and technical regulations on food safety has been more comprehensively issued to serve the management needs of food safety in general and food safety in commercial activities specifically.

The food safety standards and regulations are issued based entirely on compatibility with the Codex Alimentarius standards, harmonizing with the regulations of developed countries like the United States, Japan, the EU, and ASEAN countries in cases where Codex does not cover specific national peculiarities.

In summary, the existing regulations and food safety laws in commercial activities in Vietnam have contributed to improving the quality of state management on food safety in commercial activities in recent times. The food safety conditions at food production and business establishments have improved. The quality of imported, exported, and domestically circulated food is better controlled. The number of wholesale markets, safe food markets, and food businesses in supermarkets has gradually increased year by year. The current food safety regulations in commercial activities have created a positive legal corridor for food business activities.

2.2. Some Limitations

- The issuance of guiding documents for implementing food safety laws is still slow and lacks systematization, affecting the enforcement of the law; some regulations do not align well with food safety management, making them less feasible.

The Food Safety Law came into effect on January 1, 2011, but Decree 38/2012/ND-CP detailing the implementation of some articles of the Food Safety Law was not issued until April 25, 2012; or the Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT/BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT on the assignment and coordination in state food safety management was not issued until 2014. Many issued documents are not systematized, causing difficulties in applying the law.

- Some regulations on the assignment of responsibilities in state food safety management are overlapping and unclear; some management areas lack specific guiding regulations.

Regulations on the assignment of responsibilities for food safety management are unsuitable for managing products that “intersect” between ministries or between ministries and localities, with some content being overlapping and unclear; some areas of management lack specific guidelines.

- There is a lack of standards and technical regulations for food management, making it difficult for food business activities.

With thousands of kinds of food products circulating in the market, including fresh agricultural products, functional foods, and thousands of traditional food products that are regional specialties, the issuance of TCVN, QCVN, and local technical guidelines on food as a technical tool for food safety management has been slow and lacking. Some technical regulations are unclear, causing confusion for consumers, such as the technical standard for processed liquid milk.

Thus, alongside notable achievements, the legal system on food safety in commercial activities recently has shown significant drawbacks and limitations; notably, many documents are issued slowly and lack completeness, are not fully systematized, are overlapping, with unclear assigned responsibilities for various agencies and units, and need to be addressed soon in the coming period.

Source: tapchicongthuong.vn

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